ECB defends tour schedule
The England & Wales Cricket Board has defended the schedule for the South African tour after the lack of warm-up matches and condensed programme of Tests was criticised following England's defeat at Cape Town
Cricinfo staff
07-Jan-2005
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John Carr, the ECB's director of cricket, told the BBC website: "We have to hold our hands up, along with the South African board, and say that this winter it hasn't been a satisfactory situation. We raised our eyebrows when we received the first draft from the South African Board.
"Unfortunately, South Africa have got an incredibly condensed programme from last November to the end of May." South Africa played two Tests against India in November, and after England's five-match series they host Zimbabwe for two more before flying to the West Indies for four Tests.
Carr went on, "We need to play seven Test matches and 10 one-day internationals during the course of the home programme to generate the revenue that helps fund all of English cricket. We are expected to reciprocate a similar amount of cricket over the winter months. Most years we manage that workload in a more acceptable way in terms of when the cricket is played.
"It just so happens that the logistics of international cricket at the moment, and South Africa's programme in particular, meant the whole of our tour had to be condensed into a very narrow period. We weren't in a position to demand a reduction in the number of Test matches or one-day internationals."